Report: $200M-plus ‘not enough’ for Kris Bryant

“Whispers are telling me that the Cubs approached Scott Boras to do a massive extension with Kris Bryant in the last several months,” Kaplan said, per Cubs Insider. “And it was turned down by Bryant and (agent Scott) Boras.

“I was told that the Cubs’ offer was more than fair, well north of $200 million. Not enough.”

However, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reported on Thursday morning that the report is “simply not true.” The Cubs have talked to Bryant and Boras about extensions in previous offseasons, but there have been no recent talks.

Bryant, a two-time All-Star and the NL MVP during the Cubs’ 2016 World Series season, is under club control through 2021.

Bryant under club control for 3 more seasons

He earned a record for a first-year arbitration-eligible player $10.85 million in 2018 and will be eligible for arbitration the next three seasons. He’ll be eligible for free agency in 2022 when he’s 30 years old.

Bryant and the Cubs have a history of contentious dealings after the team extended his time in the minor leagues in 2015 to gain an extra year of contract control.

Not the first time two sides have been at odds

Bryant won NL Rookie of the Year that season in a year that he served 171 days of major league service time. Had he served 172 days of service time, he would have been eligible for free agency a year sooner.

Injuries slowed Bryant from his All-Star form in 2018. Bryant hit .272 with 13 home runs, 52 RBI and an .834 OPS, two years after his MVP season hitting .292 with 39 home runs, 102 RBI while logging a .939 OPS.

While there’s still plenty of time for the two sides to figure out a long-term future together, a window to do so has clearly been missed.